A group of Labour digital activists, backed by shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, want the Labour party to commit to a £10bn, five-year plan to make the UK the world’s leading digital economy and society by 2020.

Download this free guide

Government IT in post-Brexit Britain

Get an expert look at the government's ideas for a prosperous post-Brexit Britain as well as its ambitious 5G strategy. Features an interview with Sarah Wilkinson, chief data, digital and technology officer at the Home Office.

By submitting my Email address I confirm that I have read and accepted the Terms of Use and Declaration of Consent.

By submitting your personal information, you agree that TechTarget and its partners may contact you regarding relevant content, products and special offers.

You also agree that your personal information may be transferred and processed in the United States, and that you have read and agree to the Terms of Use and the Privacy Policy.

The Labour Digital group, which describes itself as “a grassroots network of over 300 digital professionals” has launched a report at the party’s annual conference in Manchester that it hopes will provide input to future Labour policy.

The study contains 82 suggestions for new policies to form part of a national programme for the UK. This would be led by a proposed Digital Board bringing together ministers and digital experts that would report to the Prime Minister.

“The scale of national transformation driven by digital in the near future can hardly be overstated,” said the report, titled Number One in Digital.

“Sadly, government has been the sector least changed by digital and tends to use it only to increase efficiency rather than to achieve the previously unimaginable. That needs to chang. Government cannot simply outsource its leadership role to a ‘Big Society’ of technical entrepreneurs. Neither can it ignore legitimate public concerns about some uses of technology. Britain needs a plan.”

“I believe our priority is to make the UK the number one country in the digital revolution. Government will be about giving people more control over their lives. We will use the internet to distribute control and to push power out to the people who know best how to use it,” he said.

Labour Digital is not an official party body, but through its affiliation and the backing of senior party figures it hopes to influence Labour’s digital manifesto for next year’s general election. It has taken several of its proposals from other digital reports produced by organisations such as the Policy Exchange think-tank, the Tinder Foundation and Labour’s Digital Skills Taskforce. Input for the report was also crowdsourced online.

0 comments

Register

Login

Forgot your password?

Your password has been sent to:

By submitting you agree to receive email from TechTarget and its partners. If you reside outside of the United States, you consent to having your personal data transferred to and processed in the United States. Privacy